This is the debut album on Wrasse for
Mungal Patasar, a Trinidadian sitar player and composer. The basic form is to make a thoroughly danceable track infused with Indian rhythmic work courtesy of
Prashant Patasar and sitar punctuation and solos courtesy of
Mungal himself. Since his early days,
Mungal has broken out of the strictly Indian classical realm and moved into a more contemporary pop format with his playing, which serve him well. The compositions aren't terribly complex, but they're funky.
Mungal's sitar isn't up to the level of a
Ravi Shankar, but he's quite capable of progressing through a song. The sitar and tabla combine for the sole purpose of adding to the groove that's set up by the keyboards and drum machines here, but they do a fine job of it. The music doesn't wander too far from the basic thumping, London dance track, but, then again, it doesn't need to. For Indian music, there's a wealth of authentic and virtuosic performances available. For Indian-infused dance, however, there's little that doesn't fall into the heading of bhangra. This album is a fine addition to the collection for a non-bhangra Indian dance music. The combination of sitar and steelpan is an interesting one, as well.